BAKER - A mobile unit has been brought into the small eastern Montana community of Baker to help mail service resume after the local post office was suddenly closed.
City officials said in recent social media posts that the Baker Post Office was closed Tuesday afternoon following a recent inspection of the building. USPS officials said "structural issues" were found in the building that was built in 1961.
Initially, city officials were told that a short-term solution to continue mail service was to move delivery to Ekalaka until a local solution is arranged. City officials said Wednesday evening that postal officials planned to bring a mobile mail unit to the city, and that unit was delivered on Thursday.
"Local mail delivery is planned to resume Monday with parcels/package delivery planned to resume Wednesday," city officials said on social media. "There is another mobile unit being brought in to accommodate that and it will be set alongside the first one."
Mail that had been available for pickup in Ekalaka - located about 40 miles away - will be available in Baker next week, city officials said.
"Through this disruption, let's grant our postal employees some grace," city officials said. "Everyone's mail pickup routine was disrupted just a day ago and it will be a little different for awhile . These folks' work space is disrupted and shrunk down for the foreseeable future. While we're going to be getting personal service, hand delivered mail, we can deliver a smile and a "Thank you" in return. We can brighten the day both ways."
